Rodent infestation of areas frequented by humans is troublesome and can ignite particular displeasure when infestation occurs in intimate settings such as the home. However, the problems associated with rodent infestation are not limited to the home; rodent infestation can be particularly detrimental to businesses that deal with food, consumables and other consumer goods, such as supermarkets, grocery stores, delis or restaurants. In addition to these situations in which rodent infestation is significantly detrimental, rodent infestation can also be detrimental to factories, farms and other workplaces.
In fact, workplace regulations (UNI, ISO, EN) concerning safety and hygiene are often strict with respect the quality of the working environment. Additionally, the workplace and the quality of products and services provided by various businesses are often verified by certifying authorities according to international, national, state or local standards. Thus, the monetary investment required to comply, and to maintain compliance, with laws, regulations and standards can be high.
Currently, most systems for eliminating small rodents are based on baited traps. For example, current methods and devices for removing rodents comprise and typically use poisonous feeds, glues that stick to the vermin, snap reacting traps or enclosures into which rodents can enter through one way passages.
However, in food and food preparation settings, the use of poisonous substances is often unlawful because of the possibility of the poison cross-contaminating those items which humans come into contact with, or those items which are meant for human consumption.
In addition, snap operating traps are not very efficient and, generally, can only capture one animal at a time. Also, the snap mechanisms can easily be identified by mice, which eventually learn to avoid these types of traps. Furthermore, snap type traps cannot be safely used in public places.
Box shaped traps, on the other hand, have many advantages; they are safe, they are capable of capturing many vermin, and they are relatively hygienic since the vermin are substantially retained within an enclosure.
However, one problem that limits the efficacy of the box shaped trap is that fact that the traps must be frequently inspected. Inspection of each trap can be difficult since the traps are typically placed in locations that are hidden or inaccessible for inspection purposes. In cases where large areas are to be disinfested, such as stores or supermarkets, traps are often located in hidden places or distributed far away from one another such that frequent, periodic checks of the traps are expensive and troublesome. Furthermore, to check whether vermin are present in the traps, it is generally necessary to employ specialized staff to open the traps. Finally, frequent inspection and disruption of the traps can cause vermin avoidance of the traps.
Hence, for the foregoing reasons, there exists a long-felt need to provide a method for signaling and monitoring the presence of vermin in several traps without the need for causing disruption to the trap.